We were wrong. Inter Miami doesn’t need superstars such as Luis Suarez. It needs to win | Opinion
Driving up I-95 to attend Inter Miami’s opening day of training camp Monday, my mind wandered back to June 3, 2019.
David Beckham and Jorge Mas were bursting with enthusiasm that day after watching the club’s academy players in a scrimmage at Central Broward Regional Stadium, a venue they used before their $50 million training facility was built. They told a small group of reporters they expected construction of Miami Freedom Park Stadium to be completed by 2022.
(Update: The proposed site remains a golf course, a 500-page lease agreement was just completed and is scheduled to go up for a City Commission vote in the coming weeks. If it passes, the stadium likely won’t be completed until late 2024.)
Beckham also shared that day that his phone was ringing off the hook with calls from well-known international players eager to join his new team in Miami.
Among the stars linked to the club that summer: Edinson Cavani, James Rodriguez, David Silva, Radamel Falcao and Luis Suarez, whose name continues to come up nearly three years later despite team sources insisting the Uruguayan forward is not in the plans.
Beckham stressed that the club would sign a superstar only if the player was hungry and willing to work, that a younger lesser-known player with a winning attitude was more important than a famous name in the twilight of his career, yadda yadda.
Still, most South Florida soccer fans — this one included — thought Inter Miami needed at least one global star, preferably two or three, to become a success in this soccer-savvy, glitzy market. We believed fans here would not support a team unless the roster included at least a few players with World Cup and Champions League experience.
We were wrong.
As the club enters its third MLS season, a few things are abundantly clear: Yes, having a global icon such as Beckham as a co-owner is great for marketing. Despite not making the playoffs last season and losing the opening round the year before, Inter Miami has 1 million Instagram followers, second -best in MLS. Cool merch is also nice. The new pink jersey surely will be popular.
But more than anything, Inter Miami fans want the team to win. And they don’t really care if the back of the jerseys read Suarez, Cavani, Falcao or Campana, Mota, McVey.
Those incredibly passionate fans who pack the standing room only north stands at DRV PNK Stadium — La Familia, as they are known — have been singing and banging their drums for two years now, rain or shine, waiting for a winning team. They deserve one. And they won’t wait forever.
Here’s guessing Year 3 will be the charm.
The club parted ways with about half of its roster from last season. Only one of the three high-priced designated players is left standing — Argentine forward Gonzalo Higuain. The team shipped playmaker Rodolfo Pizarro back to the Mexican League on a loan and is negotiating a buyout for 34-year-old French World Cup winner Blaise Matuidi.
Monday’s lively training session was ripe with young, fast, hungry newcomers. There was Bryce Duke, a 5-7 kid in lime green boots, darting through the midfield and scoring a nice goal. Ariel Lassiter raced around in bleached blond hair, his speed reminiscent of his father, Roy Lassiter. Imposing Leonardo Campana and Ryan Sailor ran laps. Emerson Rodriguez, Mo Adams and George Acosta showed their grit. Looming over the defense from the back line was tall center back Christopher McVey and even taller Aime Mabika.
Also practicing with the first team were Beckham’s son, Romeo, and coach Phil Neville’s son, Harvey, both members of the club’s USL Fort Lauderdale team.
Higuain later said he was energized by the youth and positive energy that surrounds him. He said “Our Plan A clearly did not work last year,” so the team will employ different offensive looks, and he vowed to help generate more scoring chances. He lamented that his older brother, Federico, recently retired and now coaching in the club’s academy, didn’t get a chance to play with this group.
It will take time for the new-look team to gel, but there is reason to believe these younger, lesser-known players will take the team farther than it has gone in Year 1 and Year 2 in a league known more for physicality and speed than finesse.
Truth is the top MLS scorers last season were not international stars.
Valentin Castellanos, a 23-year-old Argentine who went to New York City FC from Uruguayan club Torque, led his team to the 2021 MLS Cup title with a league-leading 22 goals. Tied in second place with 19 goals were Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar, a German who previously played at Danish club Brondby, and D.C. United’s Ole Kamara, a Norwegian who played in the Austrian league before joining MLS.
The top four teams in the East were New England, Philadelphia, Nashville and NYCFC. Top in the West were Colorado, Seattle, Kansas City, and Portland. None of those teams relied on global superstars.
Matuidi’s departure will open a designated player spot for Inter Miami. Social media is already buzzing with rumors of Suarez, who turns 35 next week, leaving Atletico Madrid to finish his career with Beckham’s team. Once upon a time, the thought of Suarez and Higuain in Miami jerseys seemed like a match made in soccer heaven.
Not anymore.
This story was originally published January 18, 2022 at 4:48 PM.